Chapter 5

Hang in there, Ultraman!

Intro Theme: Take me Higher

"Hurry up ya'll, we gotta get this here coal outta ground as soon a possible, Fall be comin soon an it be gettin rather chilly!" Shouted the head conductor of the miners. Ponies across Equestria were stocking up on the precious fossil fuel known as coal, it was extremely important to them in the chillier winter months, and those who did not have heating used it to bake food, as heat their homes in the winter. Many miners at this time of year were doing the back breaking labor of finding a way to get at it all.

However, the new invention of a fantastic machine called a strip miner was put to work on most fields. It cut the labor back greatly for the workers, and pretty much all they had to do was haul the wagons it dumped the coal into. The claw of the machine dug deep into the dirt, and bits of the ancient rock began to appear in the soil, they were getting close. Suddenly, the machine seemingly reached what they assumed was bed rock, as the claw could not dig through it.

"Give it some more power there!" shouted the eager site manager. The claw came down, bashing on what they thought was earth, when suddenly, the ground began to shake. Workers screamed as they ran this way and that, trying to get out of the site. Fissures appeared in the ground, and a deep bellow could be heard from beneath them. Rearing his upper body from the ground, was none other than the ancient monster, Gomora. Tons of dirt slid down off his body, as he released another earth shaking wail. He looked at the sun with bloodshot eyes, he had been dormant for thousands if not millions of years, and how wonderful it was to feel the sunlight on his skin.

"It, it It's a monster!" cried the miners as they ran from the beast, others were frozen in utter fear.

Gomora stepped out of the crater he formed from where he rose, shaking the leftover dirt off his thick leathery skin. That's when he looked down at the ponies, seeing them scatter away from him. Despite being a 55 meter tall monster, he was greatly curious about these creatures, having never seen anything like them before. However, they mattered very little to him, he was incredibly thirsty, and needed water and fast. Gomora rummaged through the mining site, crushing both ponies and equipment with each step he took.

Far, far away from where it occurred, Cory and AppleJack as well as Big Macintosh were busy collecting apple's from the trees. This was entirely new to Cory, but found it a great way to practice his kicking techniques, the ones he remembered at least. Since he came here, Cory had not once ate a food that had they very least of fat, which turned him into a fit and able bodied youth, and there wasn't a muscle on him that wasn't toned. With not an ounce of fat on his body, Cory felt great about himself.

"Them are some pretty fancy kicks yah there bucko," Macintosh said as he passed by with his wagon.

Cory wiped the sweat from his brow, "Thanks, learned them all a long time ago".

As soon as Cory said this, he suddenly felt a strange tingling in him, the same feeling he got the last few times a monster appeared. This meant there was definitely trouble, somewhere out there, and he sensed it. After becoming one with Tiga, he could sense many other things besides monsters, in fact he could read other ponies like a book.

AppleJack walked up to Cory from behind, "Ya'll OK there sugarcube? You look awfully worried bout somethin"

Cory shook his head, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine, just zoned out for awhile"

Applejack giggled, "You got the loneliest expression sometimes there partner, but if ya'll ever need anythin, just come to me"

Cory nodded, "Thanks"

He turned around to see the little filly AppleBloom approaching him. Cory with a passion loved AppleBloom, she was by far one of the cutest things he had ever seen, her, Scootaloo, and Sweetie belle. He couldn't help but smile to see her waddle up to him on her stubby legs.

She looked up at him with her big Reddish orange eyes"Granny Smith said that you guys can come in for some lunch, she made it specially cause you were here workin,".

Cory smiled, Yeah, i could go for some food. What about you AJ?"

AppleJack nodded in agreement, "Me too, I'mma bout starved."

Suddenly, they heard the sound of what was a small motorized scooter racing up the hill. Sure enough, it was AppleBlooms two friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

"Cory, AppleBloom, AppleJack, hey!" the two said in unison.

"AppleBloom, you ready for another day of crusading?" Scootaloo eagerly asked.

"We've got all sorts of different things sorted out for the day, were totally gonna get out Cutie Marks this time!" Sweetie Belle cheerfully announced.

"Yeah, lets go!" she then turned to Cory, "Bye guys, I'll see ya'll this evenin!" And with that she hopped on the scooter with her friends and sped off.

"Move your Caboose!" shouted granny Smith who was standing in the doorway of the house.

"We best be goin, I know were both hungry" said AppleJack.

While they sat down enjoying their meal, Cory couldn't help but think what that tingling was about this time.

"Um, Cory, you gonna eat that pie?" Asked Big Macintosh.

Cory glanced at it his pie, "Want half of it?"

"Eeyup." Big Mac replied.

When lunch was over, and after a few more hours of work, it was getting fairly late, and AppleJack, Cory, and Mac were finished with the daily chores.

Applejack looked towards that dirt road, "Now where in the hay is AppleBloom at? She said she'd be back here no later than six.."

Soon both Cory and AppleJack could hear the sound of a small scooter, and sure enough it was the three crusaders. "Take her inside Cory, I'mma go check and see what Big Macintosh is up to."

They stopped right in front of them, the three of them looking very disappointed.

"So,find anything out today?" Cory asked.

Scootaloo hung her head low, "We tried everything, bee keeping, carpentry, nothing worked..."

Sweetie Belle looked at AppleBloom as she got off the scooter, "We'll see you tomorrow AppleBloom..."

As the two fillies sped off, Cory looked down at AppleBloom, her little body was shaking with sobs. He squatted down next to the little pony, seeing her like this broke his heart.

"Ey, comeone there, don't worry, from what Ive learned you'll get one eventually".

Tears rolled down her cheecks, "It's not fair, it's just not fair..." She was starting to lightly cry.

Cory scooped up the little filly in his arms, tickling her soft yellow stomach, making her squirm and begin to laugh. He wiped away her tears, and patted her on the head, "There, now that's the happy little AppleBloom I know. Come on, it's time we headed inside."

An hour later it was time for Cory to go back to Sugar Cube corner, as that technically was his home while he lived in their world. "See yah guys, I'll help yah out on the next harvest!"

Applejack waved back, "Thanks Cory, you been a great help helpin us!"

Far away in the royal castle, Luna sat in her throne, eyes closed. She was no longer there, her mind looked over her land, like her sister and the sun, she could use the moon as some sort of eyes. Both her and her sister have been watching it for days, a strange, large object approaching the earth, rapidly getting closer. They were both unsure of what it was, but sensed something sinister about it.

Far from the castle, Gomora wandered upon a large lake. He could smell the water away for miles, and he bent over, greedily drinking it, taking in huge gulps. The water was like instant energy, making him feel and grow stronger. Taking in his fill of water, he turned away to search for some source of food, but then he sensed something else.

Looking behind him, he was what seemed to be a large ball of flames falling clear out of the sky, before it crash landed in the water. Water splashed in every direction, causing the surrounding woods to become flooded. Gomora stumbled back in surprise from what had just occurred, but kept his eyes locked on the object in the water.

It was no meteorite, slowly raising his head to the sky was the Cybernetic beast Ligatron, water pouring off his impenetrable armor. He has been searching for a planet for quite some time now, one where he could replenish his energy. He released a mechanical and beastly roar towards the stars above before turning to face Gomora, equally surprised as Gomora to see such a being. He examined Gomora through his electrical eye, taking in every last detail.

Gomora was shocked to see such a being, but felt threatened by this new monster, and readied himself for a great battle. Ligatron bashed his claws together, waiting for his adversary to make his first move, and so he did. Gomora swung his tail at Ligatron, making the cyborg stumble back a bit, but he quickly recovered. The dinosaur tried a different tactic, and charged, attempting to head butt Ligatron in the stomach, but suddenly felt an agonizing burning in his shoulder, followed by an small explosion on the affected area. He reared back and pawed at the burnt and smoking flesh as Ligatron let loose another laser beam from his claws, striking Gomora again in the chest.

Seeing his chance, he charged at the wounded dinosaur, repeatedly bashing him with his claws, but received a good swipe to the face, Gomora's claws scarping across the mechanical beings face. Angered, Ligatron brought down both of his claws with all his might onto Gomora, making the ancient monster collapse to the ground, causing him shriek in pain as ligatron kicked him away. As soon as he tried to get up, another laser beam lanced into his flesh, making Gomora release a throat shredding cry, then soon felt another lash across his body, slightly drawing blood. Gomora would not give up, he swung his tail, this time knocking Ligatron off his feet, but only for a few moments.The cyborg was quickly back on his feet, and his forearms were glowing with blue energy, releasing another powerful energy beam from his hands, hitting Gomora in his previously wounded shoulder.

He collapsed, he had enough of this, and his life blood poured from his injuries. He got up one last time, landing a powerful punch on Ligatron, but this was quickly shaken off as Ligatron swung his claw with all his might, slicing open Gomora's throat.

He hit the ground with a thud, and was dead in seconds, as his enemy stood over him, bashing his claws together and roaring in victory. Ligatron the remembered what he came for, energy. He was not sure if there were any energy plants of some sort on this planet.

He lumbered through the hilly area, smashing through rocks and small mountaisn that stood in his way, then he noticed some electrical lines. He could sense the energy that surged through the wires, making him crave it even more. Ligatron placed his claw on the sides of the metal power pole, and slowly began absorbing the energy, feeling the energies surge through his body.

The more he fed off of it, the more powerful he became. After Celestia knows how long of feeding, his hunger for energy was satisfied for the time being, Ligatron would go look elsewhere for looking for a different type of energy source. The jets on his back ignited, thrusting him at mach 3 through the air, Ligatron bellowed, his roar could be heard for miles around.

Luna watched the battle through the eyes of the moon, she was in terrible shock at the monsters incredible power. She had hoped that they would both die while fighting, this however was not at all the case. She immediately ran to her sisters bedroom where she slept, "Sister! You must awake, there is great danger for all of Equestria!"

Celestia immediately awoke from her sleep, "Where has it landed, Luna?"

"I don't know, but it is not far from Ponyville"

Princess Celestia thought of all the possibilities of what this thing might do to the town. "I must warn Twilight about this immediately,"

While Twilight and Spike slept, the young Dragon released a large belch of fire, and out came a scroll. Twilight awoke, surprised to receive a letter this late at night.

Spike scratched his head, confused he asked "A letter from the Princess? This late?"

His mentor tried to get a better look at the scroll, "Read it to me Spike,"

"Twilight, when the morning arrives, immediately gather your friends, a great monster has appeared not far from ponyville, and I urge you to investigate who and what it is at once, Yours truly, Princess Celestia."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Another monster?"

"Yeah, I don't know they're coming from either," replied Spike.

"Either way the Princess needs us, I'll be getting ready for the morning, you stay a-"

She was cut off by her protege, "Can I come along?" he asked, "If that's ok of course..."

Twilight was puzzled, "Why would you want to Spike?"

He twiddled his thumbs, "Well to be honest, I really wanna see this Ultraman actually fight, RainbowDash and Pinkie Pie keep on telling me stories about him and, I just wanted to see it for myself, yah know?"

Twilight was packing her satchel with a I spell books, "Spike as much as I know you wanna see it, it's way too dangerous, even the likes of me shouldn't be going out there"

Spike wouldn't stop there, "Aw come on Twilight, just this once?"

Twilight sighed at the little dragon, "Fine, you can come, but stay close to me when we get close to this supposed monster."

"No prob Twilight!"

The next morning, Cory awoke to Pinkie Pie nudging his shoulder with her hoof, "Cory quick! Twilight needs us all downstairs!"

"Downstairs? For what?" he said while stretching his arms.

"I dunno, beats me silly! Come one, lets go!" and with that she bounced down the stairs.

When Cory came down, he saw the Mane six along with Spike, all in a circle. Cory took a seat next to Pinkie Pie and RainbowDash.

"Alright guys, we've got a big problem, apparently a monster has appeared and is heading towards Ponyville as we speak. We all need to work together if were gonna be able to stop this thing, or die trying, maybe..."

Fluttershy's eyes perked up, "Wait, did y-you say a, a m-m-monster!?"

RainbowDash rolled her eyes, "Come one Fluttershy, if were gonna be able to save Ponyville, were all gonna have to do this together."

"But, but, I can hardly stand a dragon let alone a big, scarey, monster!" she squeaked.

Cory patted her on the back, "Look, I know your scared, I mean, we all are too, kinda, but you've been there with us before when these things showed up, and, I know you can do it again,"

Fluttershy lifted her head back up, "Ok, I'll go.."

Twilight nodded her head, "Good, lets go everypony!"

When they set out, it was awhile before they found any signs of the monster, except for a crush electric pole and some downed wires. Suddenly they heard loud stomping foot steps, whatever it was, it was extremely large. It was definitely getting closer. Twilight turned to her protege, "Alright Spike, remember, stay behind me.

They were half way up the small mountain to see what was occurring on the other side, but Ligatron peered over the small mountain, releasing a deafening roar to them. Fluttershy squealed and attempted to flee, but this only caught Ligatron's attention, making him lumber after the small Pegasus.

Spike hid behind Twilight, "Oh no, that thing is after Fluttershy!"

"Oh no he isn't!" Said RainbowDash, she flew to face level with Ligatron, "Ey you! back off!"

Fast as lightning, Rainbow flew in circles around Ligatron, causing a small cyclone to blow around him. He could not see through the dust, nor could he focus on the small pest, but he simply kept marching forwards. RainbowDash quickly halted, finally realizing her tactic was doing her no good.

Despite his friends yelling at him to come back, Cory ran after Fluttershy to get her, he knew that she would never get away from that beast. He sprinted through the woods, not stopping till he saw her yellow body.

"Fluttershy!" he yelled, running towards her. he knelt down next to her, she was not dead, but simply passed out from fear. But then he realized, he had left the others unprotected. This was where Cory would take matters all into his hands. Pulling the Spark lens from his pocket, he pressed the switch, consuming his body in a blinding light.

Ligatron was walking after the other ponies, that was all he needed to do to keep up with them. But then out of nowhere, Ultraman Tiga landed in front of Ligatron, blocking of his path.

The ponies and Spike made a safe distance away from the two giant beings, all were relieved to see Ultraman was there to help.

"So, Twilight, is that, Ultraman...?" asked Spike.

"Yeah, that's him alright!" shouted RainbowDash! "Get ready for the awesomest fighting you'll ever see there Spike!"

Ligatron kept walking towards Tiga, seemingly not noticing him, that was when the hero of light delivered a powerful flying side kick to Ligatrons stomach, making him bellow from the shock of the attack, this for sure caught his attention. Before Ligatron could slam with claws down onto Tiga, the hero was already back up, delivering three powerful knee strikes to Ligatron's gut, but was swatted away with his claw.The cyborg fired a laser at Tiga, but he quickly dodged it, rolling to his right side.

As soon as tiga was back up, Ligatron was already on the offense, bashing him about with his claws, but then received a front kick from Tiga, as well as a roundhouse to his side, but Ligatron's armor shook off these attacks, and knocked away the Ultra once more.

From behind a grove of tree's, Fluttershy ran as fast as she could back towards her friends, "Fluttershy, oh thank heavens your alright!" cried Rarity.

"But wait," said RainbowDash, "Wheres Cory?"

Ultraman surely had his hands full, not only was this monster fast, but it was sure as hell powerful. He found himself dodging most of Ligatrons attacks than actually fighting back, but the Ligatron locked his claws around Ultraman's neck, tosiing him away with great force. When Tiga recovered, he released a small bullet of blue energy, striking Ligatron in the shoulder, making him roar in pain as bits of armor were blown off from the area. His cybernetic eye flashed, causing a great explosion to occur in front of Ultraman.

Everypony and Spike held their breath, and were relieve to see Ultraman rise from the flames, seemingly unharmed. It would take alot more than this to put Tiga down, raising up his fists, he switched into his Power Mode, his bodies muscle's tripling in mass, and strength, his body turning to red and silver, now he was ready to fight. Going into his battle pose, he charged towards Ligatron, and the gnarled space robot charged back, but one swift punch from Tiga was more than enough to send Ligatron stumbling before falling onto his back. Ultraman Tiga saw the advantage, he jumped onto Ligatron, body slamming the beast so hard that the whole ground shook.

Grabbing onto two of the three horns on the Cyborg's head, Tiga raised the beasts head back before slamming it into to ground, cracking his adversaries cybernetic eye. Tiga jumped onto the monsters back, showering him with punches that dented his armor.

Spike was getting an adrenaline rush from the excitement of this fight, "Yeah,! You show him Ultraman!"

The others pony were cheering as the Tiga warrior was bashing in Ligatron's armor. But it would not accept defeat, activating his booster jets, knocking Tiga off his back and blowing him a significant distance away from him.

When Tiga got back to his feet, Ligatron was already up, engraged and full with lust for vengeance, . From all the worlds he's been to, not once has any being do so much as even lay a hand on him, and his back was covered in dents and bent armor, this being would pay.

Ultraman Tiga knew that it was time he finished this, thrusting his hands down, he gathered energy for the Delacium light stream, but as soon as he threw it at his enemy, a blue laser beam struck him in the chest, making him barely miss his target. The attack grazed Ligatron's shoulder, melting it, nearly rendering his right arm useless.

He released another laser beam, this time knocking Tiga to his knee's. Ligatron ran towards Tiga, swinging his claw at him, only to have it blocked by Ultraman, but he battered him in the back his his other one, striking him in the back and front, knocking the hero onto his back.

Ligatron kicked Ultraman away from him, causing the Ultra's color timer to blink. When he recovered from the shock, Ultraman turned around to see Ligatron dig his claws into his his sides, lifting him off the ground.

Twilight and her friends looked in pure disbelief, "He's losing, and everything he's doing doesn't even hurt the monster, can't he help him out?" RainbowDash asked Twilight

Rarity closed her eyes, "Girls, this.. This just might be the end...."

Spike ran up closer to the two giants, "Come on Ultraman! Your just gonna let that thing win? I thought you were meant to be our hero!?" he shouted.

Ultraman heard his words, looking at the small little creature. Suddenly, from deep within him, Cory's concious kicked in. No longer was it just Ultraman's brute strength, but now it was Cory who was fighting. For the ones he loved, the ones who gave him a home in a world where he wasn't welcomed, and he'd defend thme no matter what. He would never give in.

Twilight joined Spike, "I know you can do it, I know you can protect us, I know you can lead us, just don't give up! We believe you can win this!"

Tiga grabbed Ligatron's claws, pulling them apart from his waist, before kicking him in the chest, knocking him clean off his feet. Not wasting a minute, Ultraman Tiga switched to his Omni mode, and started to charge his Alpha Stream. Ligatron was about to fire another laser beam, but Ultraman already fired his weapon, hitting Ligatron square in the chest, causing radiated destructive energies to rip him apart from the inside out.

His body went limp, falling onto his back slowly, Ligatron let out one last roar before blowing into thousands of pieces, bits of metal and organic material flying in every direction.

The brightness of the explosion was blinding, but when the light grew dim, they could see the burning remains of the wretched space monster, "Alright yeah! Woohoo!" cried Pinkie Pie.

Twilight was just as excited, "I knew he could do it!"

Tiga nodded to the small creatures before taking off into the clouds above. He knew they were finally safe once more.

Cory came jogging across what was a battle field to his friends, they all hugged him, thankful he was still alive, one great big group hug.

While they walked back home, Spike kept going on and on about the fight, "And then he turned red, throwing that giant monster around like a rag doll, and then he used that laser to just, just blow him to pieces!"

AppleJack turned to the little dragon, "Calm down there sport, we all seen what happened."

"Yeah I know but, man, what I'd do to see it all again!"

Everyone including Cory just laughed as they just walked down the dirt rode towards Ponyville. It sure was a hectic day for them all, but regardless, Cory smiled and laughed with them, knowing they could all sleep peacefully tonight.

Next Chapter: Chapter 6: First Contact Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 43 Minutes